For the purposes of this chapter, certain words and phrases used in this chapter are defined as follows:
(a) "Abandoned" means a condition in which a property is vacant or distressed.
(b) "Accessible" means capable of being accessed through a compromised or insecure gate, fence, wall, or entrance, or unsecured or capable of being breached so as to allow access to the interior space of a structure by unauthorized persons.
(c) "Agreement" means any agreement or written instrument which provides that title to residential property shall be transferred or conveyed from one owner to another owner after the sale, trade, transfer or exchange of said property.
(d) "Assignment of rents" means an instrument that transfers the beneficial interest under a deed of trust from one lender or entity to another.
(e) "Beneficiary" means a lender party of a note secured by a deed of trust.
(f) "Buyer" means any person or entity who agrees to transfer anything of value in consideration for property described in an agreement for sale of said property.
(g) "Days" means consecutive calendar days.
(h) "Deed of Trust" means an instrument by which title to real estate is transferred to a third party trustee as security for a real estate loan. In the State of California, the term "deed of trust" is used instead of the term "mortgage." This definition applies to any and all subsequent deeds of trust (i.e., 2nd trust deed, 3rd trust deed, etc.).
(i) "Deed in lieu of foreclosure or sale" means a recorded document that transfers ownership of a property from the trustor to the holder of a deed of trust upon consent of the beneficiary of the deed of trust.
(j) "Default" means the failure to fulfill a contractual obligation, monetary or conditional.
(k) "Distressed" means a condition in which a property;
(1) Is in receipt of a current notice of default or notice of trustee's sale;
(2) Is the subject of a pending tax assessor's lien sale;
(3) Is the subject of a foreclosure sale where the title was retained by the beneficiary of a deed of trust involved in the foreclosure; or
(4) Is transferred under a deed in lieu of foreclosure or sale.
(l) "Evidence of vacancy" means any condition that on its own, or combined with other conditions present, would lead a reasonable person to believe that the property is vacant. Such conditions include, but are not limited to, conditions violating property maintenance standards set forth in this code, overgrown or dead vegetation, accumulation of newspapers, circulars, flyers or mail, past due utility notices or disconnected utilities, accumulation of trash, junk or debris, the absence of window coverings such as curtains, blinds or shutters, the absence of furnishings or personal items consistent with residential habitation, statements by neighbors, passersby, delivery agents, government employees, utility employees or similar persons, that the property is vacant.
(m) "Foreclosure" means the process by which a property, placed as security for a real estate loan, is sold at auction to satisfy the debt if the trustor defaults.
(n) "Local" means within eighty miles of the subject property.
(o) "Notice of default" means a recorded notice that a default has occurred under a deed of trust and that the beneficiary intends to proceed with a trustee's sale.
(p) "Out of area" means in excess of eighty (80) miles of the subject property.
(q) "Owner" means any person or entity having a legal or equitable title or any interest in any property.
(r) "Owner of record" means the person currently having record title to the property at the Los Angeles County Recorder's Office.
(s) "Property" and/or "Properties" means any improved or unimproved real property, or portion thereof, situated in the city, designed or permitted to be used for residential purposes, and shall include the buildings and structures located on such property. This includes any real property being offered for sale, trade, transfer, or exchange as "residential" whether or not it is legally permitted or zoned as "residential."
(t) "Securing" means such measures as may be directed by the Building Official or his or her designee that render the property inaccessible to unauthorized persons, including but not limited to the repairing offences and walls, chaining or padlocking of gates, the repairing of doors, windows or other openings.
(u) "Trustee" means the person, firm or corporation holding a deed of trust on a property.
(v) "Trustor" means a borrower under a deed of trust, who deeds property to a trustee as security for the payment of a debt.
(w) "Vacant" means a condition of property in which any building or structure thereon is not legally occupied. (Ord. 626, § 1, 2009).